Operation Ice Princess
by Anonymous Dream Echo
Summary: Alfred F. Jones is the hero! He helps those in dire need and his brother's (lack of a) love life is on the line. Matthew has the attention of the hottest girl in school, Katyusha. One problem: she can't date until her younger sister Natalya does. Cue Alfred; he has to melt the bitter ice princess so his brother can get his happily ever after. It's harder than he expects. AmeriBel
1. Chapter 1

**Hetalia © Hidekaz Himaruya**

* * *

Alfred's eyes nearly popped out of his head the moment he stumbled upon his brother talking to Katyusha Braginski. He was sure his jaw had fallen open at the sight. Mattie who was quieter than a mouse and a total wall flower was talking to no ordinary girl, not by a long shot. Katyusha was the most sought after girl in their entire school. She had light blonde chin length hair, a killer body, and was the nicest girl that volunteered and spoke with a soothing voice. While most guys in their school only seemed to notice her—ahem assets, Alfred's pretty sure his lil bro likes her for her personality. The way Matthew's eyes effortlessly stayed above her chest while he tried not to fidget under her gaze was the biggest evidence of that.

He watched as the two conversed in a way that looked very awkward but also very comfortable, he didn't even know such a thing was possible! Then Alfred's bright blue eyes saw that Katyusha was holding something in her hands and was offering it to his baby bro. He squinted his eyes behind the glasses perched on his nose, trying to see what it was. The smile on his face grew bigger when he saw that it was a small box of chocolates. Suddenly the ringtone of a cell phone sounded and Katyusha got a look of distress on her face. The look intensified when she answered it. She waved goodbye to Matthew with an apologetic look before leaving him alone.

"Dude!" he shouted once the girl was far enough away and he could jump his five minute younger sibling, "How are you talking to the hottest girl in school?"

Matthew blushed deeply and tried to unsuccessfully shove his brother off of him before he answered.

The quieter of the two smiled softly while he spoke, "We share a class together. We always pair up for projects."

"You like her don't you?" Alfred asked with a sly smile on his lips and a knowing look in his navy blue eyes. The younger of the two blushed and averted his lighter colored eyes, "Yeah."

Although Matthew's smile quickly vanished and a hopeless look crossed his kind face, "There's only one problem."

"What's that?" Alfred asked, since in his eyes his bro was set. Katyusha obviously liked him, he liked her. What could possibly be the problem?

Matthew gave him a disbelieving look then sighed, it was _Alfred_ after all. He heaved a big sigh before saying one name, "Natalya."

"Who?"

"Her younger sister."

"Ow, the ice princess?" how could Alfred have forgotten? It was the only reason Kat was single. It was well known that their older brother Ivan Braginski was a crazy loon who made it a rule that Kat could not date until her younger sister did. Which conveniently worked out for him since Natalya scared away any potential suitors with her icy glares and cold attitude. He looked back at his younger brother to see him staring at the gift the busty girl had given him. The wistful look was enough to make _Alfred's_ heart ache in longing.

"You know what Mattie?" he asked when an idea struck him. Matthew looked up sharply at the sudden change of tone in his brother's voice. The younger twin could almost see the wheels turning in his brother's head. He had to stop Alfred before he had his mind set on whatever hair brained scheme he was planning up.

"Alfred, no!"

"What?" Alfred questioned innocently, a little _too_ innocently, "You haven't even heard what I was going to say!"

"Alfred, no. Just no."

"Too late, the hero has made up his mind!" with that Alfred messed up his younger brother's hair before running off into the direction of their home. All the while he laughed as his younger brother tried to catch up to him.

And that was how 'Operation: Ice Princess' began.

* * *

**A/N: **Hello:) So an AmeriBel, YAY! ha ha so as you might've seen, i got this idea after remembering the movie ten things i hate about you...not mine btw lol...but yeah it just hit me one day and would not leave me alone. This story will prob be 2nd to my first story since my LietBel is getting to an intersting point right now, so don't expect updates ASAP. Although i would like like to know if you guys want to read this and if i should continue:P

Thanks for reading:D


	2. Chapter 2

**Hetalia © Hidekaz Himaruya**

* * *

"Thank you sir," Alfred said to a mid-forties man with a push broom in his hands. The man nodded his head and shrugged as if to say "no problem". At the moment Alfred had arrived extra early (a feat that was unheard of, when it concerned the blue eyed blond) to get into the empty school.

"No problem. Just don't do anything stupid," he warned giving Alfred a sharp look to make sure that Alfred knew he was serious.

"I'll keep my word," Alfed promised with a hand over his heart. The janitor nodded before turning away to continue his work. The janitor knew Alfred was a good kid, the boy had worked for the school during the summer and the janitor had been his supervisor. Alfred was a hard worker and honest, but the janitor did not want to be on the receiving end of any punishment if Alfred did do something wrong.

Alfred also turned around to walk in the opposite direction. He fished around in his jacket pocket to find a slip of paper with a number and a letter on it. When he did find it he smiled victoriously. He had gotten the slip of paper after convincing the student intern at the front office to give it to him. It wasn't as hard as he expected, the intern was a little airheaded.

"He he she'll love this for sure," Alfred said with an excited look on his face. On his way to school he had stopped by the flower shop just around the corner. The night before a brilliant idea popped into his head while he was thinking of a game plan to win over Natalya. That idea was to stick a rose onto her locker. Girls loved stuff like that right? The whole secret admirer thing seemed to what most girls swooned over. He also thought it best since Natalya was a very hard person to approach. He was sure if he walked up to her she would rip his head off.

"873A," he said looking at the numerous lockers lining the hallways. It took a few minutes of wondering the halls before he found the correct locker. He gave whoop of success then pulled out the rose from his backpack. He took another minute to admire the beauty of the flower. The first glance it was your typical rose, but upon closer inspection the flower was a vibrant red and it was in full bloom with a nice freshly sweet aroma. Without a doubt it was sure to make any girl go doe eyed.

Alfred pulled out a small roll of translucent tape and taped the flower on the middle Natalya's locker. Next, he took out a little rectangular card with the words "From Your Secret Admirer" on it. It was written with his hand writing. Took him several tries to get it just right. He quickly taped that beside the rose.

"Not bad, not bad at all," Alfred said backing away from the locker to admire his handiwork. The sudden ringing of his phone prompted him jump five feet into the air. It was his alarm, alerting him he had to leave _now_. If not then Mattie would surely catch him. The less Mattie knew, the more likely Alfred would succeed.

"This is so gonna work," the blond said to himself before he ran out of the school and down the familiar concrete streets. Sadly, by the time he had gotten home the lights were all on. Alfred's expression dropped and he looked at the tree next to his bedroom window. He was going to have to climb it. Alfred groaned but walked to the base of it.

He psyched himself up before he grabbed onto a good sturdy branch, "You've done this before."

And thus began his adventure up the tree. His hand slipped a few times, his cheeks got a few scratches from twigs, and he had to make sure he didn't look down the whole time. Thankfully, the blond was able to get to his window sill but that didn't mean he made it into his room scott free. Alfred was mid-way through the window when his foot got caught and he nosily tumbled the rest of the way.

"Alfred," Matthew called from the other side of his door, he sounded concerned. The loud bang was hard to ignore. "Are you okay?"

"Fine, fine…just fell over pulling my on my jeans," the older twin lied.

"Oh okay," Matthew said with a little confusion. Alfred waited on the hardwood floor, until he heard the sound of his brother's footsteps walking away. When he was sure that Mattie had walked down the stairs, Alfred groaned from the pain of landing harshly on his face.

"It better be worth it."

* * *

"See you later Mattie!" Alfred yelled to his brother the moment they stepped on campus. The shyer of the two watched as the older easily made his way through the throngs of students surrounding them. Alfred usually stayed with him until class started. The blond just shrugged and made his way to a Katyusha waving him over. He may love his brother, but he was no competition when it concerned the sweet girl.

As for Alfred, he was almost giddy while he made his way to the hallway he was at earlier. He stopped just at the edge of the hallway. He made himself look as inconspicuous as possible. Although anyone who knew Alfred would be highly suspicious when he pulled out his assigned English novel. There were already a few people giving curious glances at the rose on the locker of _the_ Natalya Braginski. Suddenly the atmosphere of the hall became tense and a little quieter than what was normal.

They had spotted Natalya walking down the hall. People seemed to unconsciously move out of her way. Just goes to show how well known she was around their school. Alfred bit his lower lip when she stopped dead in front of her locker. A brief flash of something shown in her pale blue eyes before it was replaced by something like disgust. She reached out to the flower and pulled it off. She touched the petals gently, before she pulled the letter off as well. Several people around her began to whisper amongst themselves.

Natalya ignored them as she read the contents of the letter. Alfred watched as an annoyed expression crossed her face. No sooner did she harshly crumple the note, with his very best penmanship, and toss it over her shoulder like a piece of scrap paper.

A little something died in him. At least she kept he rose, right?

After the thought, the pale blond broke the stem of the rose in half and tossed it into the nearest trash bin.

Alfred winced, that did not go well.

The people in the hallway did not seem surprised at the action. They readily went back to ignoring the girl and conversing about something else. Natalya, for her part, went back to looking bored and pulled out a notebook from her locker.

As for Alfred, he felt like a kicked puppy. He kept his happy go lucky expression on, even though he felt like a dog walking way in defeat. Although, the obvious display of rejection hardened his resolve. Back to the drawing board.

* * *

The next day, Alfred had, again, snuck into the school. This time he had a pretty necklace, silver chain with a heart shaped charm, in his hands. He slipped it through the vents of Natalya's locker. Surely, that would work. What girl didn't like jewelry?

This time when he waited for her reaction, he was sure it would be ten times better than the day before. The moment she opened the door of her locker, she looked a little surprised. She picked up the necklace, twirled it on her index finger, then launched it hallway across the hall in disinterest. The huge smile on Alfred's face deflated. Okay, that didn't work either.

The third day, Alfred was slipping a piece of paper through her locker. It was regular notebook paper, but on the inside was far from normal class work. In his best printed handwriting, several sentences were written out on the lined paper. Some longer than others, some short. Three stanzas in total. Yes, Alfred had written a poem, something overly romantic and sweet to boot. Now that _had_ to work. Or at least he silently prayed it would.

With baited breath Alfred waited for Natalya to open her locker. Once she did his poem drifted out, her hand easily caught it. She looked at it in disbelief. Like she couldn't believe whoever had put the first gift, would continue to do so. The incredulity turned into annoyance as she grit her teeth. Her hands clenched into fists, which instantly crushed his poem as well.

"Who is doing this?" he suspected her lips to have said before she tossed the crumpled paper into the floor angrily. After she took out her notebook, she made a point to step on the piece of paper.

Alfred could have cried out in frustration.

* * *

"This will definitely work!" Alfred tried to hype himself up. Although there was a seed of doubt in his head from the failure of his last few attempts. He shook the feeling off, he had to stay positive. This time, for a gift, he brought a huskie dog stuffed animal. The pretty pale blue color reminded him of Natalya's eyes.

"So how am I going to put this on her locker?" He wondered with a contemplative expression on his face. He stared down the metal contraption, like the answer would appear on it magically. So caught up in the problem was he, that he did not notice the sound of approaching footsteps.

"So it is you," a voice said, breaking the silence. Alfred jumped out of his skin with a less than manly shriek. He spun around speedily, holding the huskie dog over his head like a weapon. Only to be face to face with the girl who would be the receiver of his gift. Natalya did not look amused at all. She actually unnerved the tall athletic-ish male with her bored expression.

Alfred lowered the stuffed toy, and sheepishly said, "Uh hi?"

Natalya lifted a brow and took deliberately slow steps toward him, "Why are you doing this?"

She pointedly looked at the stuffed animal in his arms, "What is your motive?"

The closer she got, the more Alfred felt like a mouse cornered by a cat. He took a step back and said, "Woah, wait up!"

"Answer the question," she demanded with narrowed eyes.

'_Which one_?' Alfred wondered, before he blurted out, "B-because I l-like you?"

After the words slipped from his mouth, Natalya's eyes widened a bit and for a second they displayed sadness. Or at least he thought so, but it might have just been a trick of the light because she was back to being intimidating and glaring at him.

"Quit lying!" she very nearly yelled. Alfred jumped a bit at the loud exclamation. Natalya took a deep breath to calm her nerves, "Now, who put you up to this?"

Alfred was extremely temped to throw himself at her feet and beg for forgiveness and ask her to please, _please_ date someone so Mattie could be with her sister. But he knew that would not help. So he swallowed his fear, and looked down at her with determined navy eyes.

"No one. I really like you."

For once Natalya wavered in her glaring and took a step back from him. She shook her head furiously, "Quit saying that!"

Alfred was confused at the reaction and cocked to his head to the side puzzled, "Why?"

"I hate those words," Natalya said bitterly, before she turned around and began to walk away. Alfred watched her leave with a contemplative look on his face. He then brought the stuffed puppy, still in his arms up, to his face.

"Well puppy it looks like she needs a hero too."

* * *

**A/N**: Hello:) Well here is chapter two! I had fun writing this especially the last scene because I know why Natalya acted the way she did xD thanks for the reviews.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hetalia © Hidekaz Himaruya**

* * *

After the confrontation, Alfred felt it best to lay low on Natalya's radar. While he made himself scare, he also began to look into finding more information on her. He knew the basics, like how she had transferred halfway through the previous school year, along with her sister. Her brother was scary as hell, or so the few daring guys who had asked Katyusha out when she first arrived said. That was the extent of his knowledge of her. He could not find out more than that sadly.

"This is much harder than I thought," Alfred complained to one of his closest friends. Said friend, an albino by the name of Gilbert, was staring open mouthed at him.

"Are you suicidal?" he asked after he had gotten over the initial shock of the insane plan Alfred had informed him of. "You have to be."

"What?"

"Natalya Braginski, the most unapproachable , bitchiest, coldest girl in the entire school," Gilbert said ticking off the attributes on his fingers, "She'll rip off your nads. You'll be nadless."

Alfred winced at the image from those words. He unconsciously crossed his legs, "I really didn't need that image in my head dude."

"It's true," Gilbert shrugged, "But since you seem serious about this insane scheme of yours, the awesome I have some information that might help."

Alfred perked up like a puppy. If he had had a tail, it would be wagging insistently. "What is it? What is it?"

"I've seen her in the library a lot," the albino said looking at his finger nails, trying his best be nonchalant.

"..the library?" The blond was going to ask why his friend was at the library, but then he remembered who the librarian was.

"Dude, that isn't healthy."

"You're one to talk bastard," the red eyed teen scoffed, he turned a bit pink but also looked a bit put out.

"Alright, alright, I'll back off," Alfred said holding his hands up in surrender. "Now tell me what you know."

"She volunteers after school at the library. And luckily for you they are looking for another volunteer."

"..Me work at a library?" the tanned blond asked; a shiver went down his spine.

"It's your best chance to get to know her," his friend reminded him with a smirk. Oh how Gilbert knew how Alfred hated to be around books.

"…damn." His albino friend was right.

"Kesesese." And worse, he knew it.

The minute before the last bell of the day rang Alfred was glancing at the clock every other second. He watched with both anticipation and dread as the second hand slowly ticked to the twelve. Then at last the long hand and the second hand lined up perfectly and the loud shrill scream of the bell rang out. Unlike his fellow classmates, Alfred did not jump out of his seat and make a run for the door. Instead he waited until the chaos was gone and made his way out to the mostly empty hallways.

A few minutes of walking and he was in front of two glass double doors. On one of them was a sign that said 'open'. He stared at the doors for a long time. Since the beginning of his high school career, Alfred has promised himself that he would never step foot in the atrocious place unless it was definitely necessary. Definitely necessary, at the time, meant important class assignments that took a huge chunk of his class grade. Thankfully those kind of assignments were few and far between.

The things he did for Mattie.

With that Alfred straightened his back, squared his shoulders, and held his head high. He pulled the glass doors open and walked to the large counter to the side. The library smelt of stale air, paper, and maybe even a little like dust. If that was a smell.

At the front of the counter was a woman. She was scanning books and putting them on a small push cart. The teen rang the little silver bell on the counter. The woman instantly stopped what she was doing and smiled at him. She was extremely pretty; Alfred had to admit, with long wavy brown hair and bright green eyes.

"Hi," the librarian said. Alfred smiled back at her and introduced himself.

"The new volunteer?" she asked, her vibrant green eyes lighting up. The teen nodded, almost regretfully. He silently reminded himself that heroes do not give up, especially when they had to sacrifice a little of themselves. Although he had to admit, his kind of sacrifice paled in comparison to those of real heroes.

"Alright," the woman, Mrs. Edelstein, said putting several novels onto a small push cart, "Follow me. I'll be heading to a meeting in a few. My other volunteer will be here to help you and show you the ropes."

At the mention of her other volunteer, Alfred gulped and steeled his nerves to meet her. The moment he thought that, they were turning into a book shelf where a girl was on her tip toes, trying her best to shelve a book at the top shelf.

"Natalya," Ms. Edelstein called, scaring the girl slightly. She jumped at the sound and held the book in front of her like a weapon, until her gaze landed on the librarian. She lowered the book and put on a calm expression.

"Oh, Ms. Edelstein. Sorry," she apologized before she noticed the tall figure behind her. Her expression quickly turned sour. Not the kind of response Alfred wanted from her. On the bright side, she still remembered him.

"Natalya, this is the new volunteer!" The brunette woman said, shoving Alfred in front of her. He stumbled a bit from the force of the shove, which lead to him almost being face to face with Natalya. She glared at him before she took a step back to regain her personal space.

Mrs. Edelstein was oblivious to the tense atmosphere as she happily introduced him, "His name is Alfred Jones. He'll be working here Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays."

He awkwardly waved a hand at her and tried his best to put on a charming boyish smile. She lifted a brow at him, "We've met."

"Oh? Good so you won't have any problem working with him right?" she asked. Although her voice was sweet and light, there was an edge to it. Alfred watched amazed as Natalya shrunk a bit under the librarian's gaze. Woah, who exactly was Mrs. Edelstein?

"….yeah," the long blond haired girl barely spat out, trying her best to look cheerful. She failed, miserably.

"Alright, I'll leave him in your care. Show him the around and explain his duties. I'll be back before you have to leave Natalya."

With that the librarian exited, leaving the two alone. But she did throw over her shoulder, "Don't scare him off now~"

"I won't make any promises," Alfred thought he heard her say, but he was not too sure. Suddenly, she turned her attention to him. Her full attention. He felt like a piece of DNA under a scientist's microscope, with the way she was scrutinizing him.

After a long tense silence he asked, "What?"

"Don't try anything funny," Natalya said folding her arms over her chest, "I still don't know what you want but leave me alone."

"Why do you think I'm going to do something bad?" he wondered with a slight pout, "Maybe I just really like—"

"Don't finish that sentence if you want to walk out of here alive," Natalya hissed, jabbing a finger into Alfred's chest. He would be lying if he said he wasn't scared of the intensity of her ice blue eyes when she said those words. The temperature of the air must've dropped ten degrees too. He shook off the feeling, remembering his plan.

"Why do you get defensive when I say I li—those words?" he asked, truly curious. He had revised his sentence at the end because she jabbed her finger into his chest in warning. Natalya looked up at him, looking like she was searching for something. When it looked like she hadn't found it, she turned her back to him before she answered.

"That is none of your business."

Before Alfred could ask any more questions, he felt a boatload of books shoved into his arms.

"You will be shelving these. I will teach you how to do it. Do not talk unless I ask you to. I will only explain this once."

With those clipped sentences, Natalya leaded Alfred several shelves away from their original place.

She grabbed one of the books by the spine. She proceeded to tell him what the letters and numbers meant, where each section was, etc.

"Got it?" she asked when she was done. From the commanding tone of her voice, Alfred nodded hesitantly. He was still a little lost on the system, but he was worried if he voiced his doubts she would get even more frustrated with him. The less he got on her nerves, the more likely he could get on her good side.

"Good," with that the platinum blond left Alfred alone. She walked back to her own collection of books that needed to be organized back onto the shelves. Alfred's gaze dropped back down to the books in his arms. Yeah, he was not going to be able to put them all away. He sighed.

While he looked for the correct places to put the novels, something caught the blue eyed blond's attention. It was colorful and had big bold writing on its paper cover. Faster than lightening, Alfred had thrown himself in front of a small shelf, "They have comic books here!? Cool!"

It was true. The small shelf had several volumes of superhero comic books. Like a child on Christmas morning, Alfred flipped through the thin pages like they were a new heavenly gift. His eyes became wider with each new action scene.

From the loudness of his outburst, Natalya walked toward where she stationed him, but she stopped once she saw the teen engrossed in the comics. She watched him a few moments. She might have been a bitch, she didn't feel up to scolding –_what was his name?_—Alfred. With an eye roll, at the immaturity of the tall blond, the teen girl went back to work. Well it looked like those illustrated books would keep him busy. If he was busy then that meant he had no time to bother her. That was completely fine.

After a week of working at the library Alfred was excited when he had to work. His backpack was a little heavy, he had checked out a few comics since the first day. In his younger days, he had been completely obsessed with comics. The several boxes full of them at the top of his closet were enough to prove that. Although by the middle of his sophomore year, he had stopped reading them as much. It wasn't that he grew disinterested, but schoolwork got heavier, he got more friends, and money was being spent on going out with said friends on weekends. All those factors contributed to his lack of knowledge on the storyline the newer comics had. Thankfully, at the storage area, there were a whole stack of comics that went back several years. He was caught up in no time.

"Afternoon Mrs. Edelstein," he greeted the librarian. She nodded to him with a polite smile. He took the comics out of his bag and began to check them in himself. Another duty he was given. After he was done he went to the place where they were supposed to be put. He stopped halfway when he noticed Natalya talking to someone she was shelving books with. For once she did not look annoyed or angry. Instead, she looked calm and comfortable. Alfred almost tripped over his own feet at the expression on her face.

The two seemed to not have noticed him. The guys she was talking to was a little shorter than her with chin length inky black hair and almond shaped dark brown eyes.

As he was not watching where he was walking the tall blond bumped into a bookshelf, nosily. Two sets of eyes were on him in seconds.

"Hi," he said sheepishly. Natalya gave him a neural stare and the other gave him a curious glance. The guy asked her something, to which she rolled her eyes before she motioned the other over. The tall blond was surprised at the gesture and stood dumbfounded.

"Jones, get over here," she said. Her voice broke his stupor and he walked over to the two.

"Jones this is Kiku," Natalya introduced the other, "Kiku, Alfred Jones."

"Nice to meet you Alfred-san," Kiku said with a slight accent, he bowed a little while he spoke. The action and accent threw off the American.

"You too," he managed with a smile, a little unsure if he should have bowed as well.

"Kiku volunteers here too, although he only works Wednesdays, Fridays, and every other Thursdays," Natalya informed him when neither of them spoke.

"Oh? Where were you last week?" Alfred instantly wondered shifting the comics in his hands. Kiku's eyes zeroed in on them and he got an excited glimmer in his eyes.

Instead of answering Alfred's inquiry, the younger boy asked his own, "You like comics?"

The blond male looked down with an embarrassed smile before he answered, "Yeah, it may be a little childish but I love them."

"No not childish at all," Kiku assured him before he pulled out book of his own, "I think they are pretty good as well."

"Really?" Alfred asked, it was the first time he had met another person who seemed interested in comic books, "which is your favorite?"

"And this is where I take my leave," spoke the only girl in the group, breaking the conversation. Although her tone of voice was not one of distain but of exasperated fondness, "Have fun Kiku."

If that wasn't enough strangeness from Natalya, before she left she had ruffled Kiku's hair, to the boy's embarrassment. But she glared at the other male afterward to silently communicate, "Don't you dare tell anyone about this."

"So where are you from?" Alfred asked when Natalya left.

"Accent?" Kiku wondered. Alfred nodded, "I hope it's okay that I ask."

"No, it is fine Alfred-san. I am from Japan."

"Japan?" Navy blue eyes widened, "That is so cool!"

The Japanese teenager blushed from the excited response he got.

"Yes."

Then their conversation went back to the topic of comic books. While Kiku had not read many, he was still very knowledgeable enough for the two could start debates. One question during their conversation kept bugging Alfred.

"Soooo how do you know Natalya?" Alfred asked trying his best to seem nonchalant while they stacked checked in books.

"Umm," the other hesitated before he answered vaguely, "Our families are close."

Alfred's navy blue eyes lit up even more, that was what he was looking for. Jackpot.

He finally had a way to get closer and more personal information on the notorious ice princess. Now he just needed to get Kiku on his side. By the way they could easily talk together; he doubted that would be much trouble.

After another two weeks, Alfred and Kiku were very good friends. The Japanese boy had even introduced him to something called Manga.

Natalya also seemed less hostile to him since he befriended Kiku. But she kept a sharp eye on him when she could. When she was not, Alfred always took the opportunities to ask about her. So far Kiku was a great source of information. The blond male had learned that the three Barginskis were all Russian born but only their older brother remembered their time in Russia. Natalya had a fascination with knives (kinda scared him a bit), spoke Russian fluently, her favorite band was some Russian band, she would not admit it out loud but she did like pop music, she liked to ice skate, she might not show it publically but she cared deeply for her siblings, and she liked hockey (along with her two siblings).

From these tidbits of information, Alfred saw Natalya in a different light. She was less cold, more human you could say. The truth fleshed her out of the two dimensional imagery the rumors created.

"Do you like Natalya-san, Alfred-san?" Kiku asked one afternoon. Said person almost fell onto the shelf across from Kiku. He was stunned at the very blunt to the point question. The Japanese boy usually beat around the bush. Alfred had to read between the lines when talking to him most of the time.

"Um," he started unsure of how to proceed, "Is it that obvious?"

"You are always asking about her. Your eyes are always looking for her too, when she is out of sight."

The admission of the other had Alfred's eyebrows arching, "Do I really?"

"Yes," Kiku said with a small smile, "I think it is nice. Natalya-san needs someone like you."

Alfred with a slightly cheesy smile answered, "Oh shucks, thanks."

"So are you willing to help me?" he asked, trying his best to keep the hope out of his voice.

The darker haired boy nodded his head, "Yes."

With that phase two started.

* * *

**A/N**:...I FINALLY updated this! I had this scene in my head for the longest time, just I didn't know which one to go with (I had two versions of this chapter). Then I made a basic outline with what I wanted to happen, so I would know where I was going, since I started this blindly...anyway, hoped you liked.

Thank you for reviewing, favoriting, following, this story!

I love reading reviews, they are addictive I swear:D and for the lovely reviews from the last chapter, expect to have the next chapter up quickly!


	4. Chapter 4

**Hetalia © Hidekaz Himaruya**

* * *

"You really need to plan this out better," Kiku said when he discovered how his friend was intending on winning over the anti-social blond that was Natalya Braginski. In front of him was several different loose leaf papers scattered about. They had chicken scratch scrawl to indicate different ideas, but most did not lead back to the other. They were more like one big brainstorm. The two were in the very back of the library, Natalya was out working with the librarian delivering several packets of Xeroxed packets to the school staff.

"I thought I was on a roll," Alfred shrugged, staring at the papers as well. Usually he did not need to put too much effort into winning a girl over. Normally, the girls at school were very much interested in dating and having a boyfriend. A few charming smiles, a few cheesy lines, and a few dinners and that was it.

"But Natalya-san is not like the many other girls you have dated." Kiku pointed out, frowning at the overly simple measures his friend was taking.

"No doubt. She likes hockey!" The American exclaimed.

The Japanese boy blinked his eyes slowly. "It's more complicated than that."

"Okay so what do you suggest?"

Kiku bit his lower lip in concentration. He walked over to the whiteboard they had taken out of the storage. With a dry erase marker the teen started to write down several steps down. Alfred's eyes eagerly snatched up each word that appeared.

"Okay this is what I think would work." Kiku motioned to the whiteboard. His hand pointed to the first one.

"I think your first idea of getting her to notice you in a positive light was a good idea, although as you have learned showering her with affection does not work. Thankfully you changed tactic by getting to know her by volunteering here. But she does not give out information easily. I can and have helped you with that. Now we are at your second phase, to get her comfortable around you. To do that you need to be around her constantly, to make her let her guard down."

Alfred nodded, silently telling the darker haired boy to continue.

"While letting down a guard usually means liking a person enough to be civil and kind, I think the constant bickering you two are constantly engaged in is better for this situation."

"You think it's good that we argue?"

"It is not real arguing, its borderline teasing, but the important thing is you get under her skin. Not many people challenge or argue with her like you do. It will be your 'thing', like an inside joke."

"That will be easy!"

Ignoring the comment Kiku continued, "After that, we can move onto phase three. That phase should be securing yourself a few dates."

He stopped to look at the date ideas that Alfred had written down on a piece of paper. He frowned slightly at what he saw. "A date should be different than what you would normally do. No pretty flower bouquets, no candle light dinners, no love poems."

Alfred's eyebrows almost disappeared into his hairline. Kiku was taking away his best plays! What would he be left with?

Seeing the distressed expression, the dark haired teen added, "Well at least for the first few dates. I think she will only appreciate them if she really likes you."

"…Alright." Still unsure.

"When we establish the first thee dates, I think we can move on," the Japanese boy said with a thoughtful look, "Next would be to interact with her a lot before and after the dates, specifically outside the library. Approach her in the hallway or something similar. That way you interact more, in a less professional setting."

Breaking off from the current train of conversation, Alfred questioned, "How do you know so much?"

"I am an observer," the Asian said, "I like to watch people's reactions, body language, etcetera."

"…Dude, we need to get you a girl."

Kiku blushed a faint tint of pink, "It is not me we are talking about."

Dark brown eyes darted to the nearest clock, Misses Edelstein and Natalya would be back soon. "We are running out of time, we can discuss this another time."

"I'll keep you to that!"

"This is the basic skeleton of this plan that I can come up with," Kiku said gesturing to the bullet list of their conversation. "Any questions?"

One such thing did pop up in the blond's head, "How should I ask her out and secure the dates?"

A solemn looked crossed the other's face but he replaced it with a confident one.

"It is a high possibility we will use means that will leave her no choice but to agree."

"Like blackmail?"

"Yes."

"I didn't know you could be evil."

"Not _blackmail_ blackmail," the Japanese sophomore said frantically, "More like an incentive, she will get something out of it too."

Alfred looked thoughtful. Then an idea came to him.

"I know the perfect incentive!"

The dark haired teen nodded, hoping that whatever Alfred had in mind was actually perfect. He took another glace at the clock, a small burst of panic invaded his veins, they were cutting it very close.

"We need to get rid of the evidence." Kiku said already lifting the dry board eraser. Blue eyes behind a pair of glasses expanded immediately. The loud American used his loudness to his advantage, startling the eraser out of the darker haired teen's hand.

"Wait!" he called before the board could be erased, he dug around his pockets until he produced a smart phone and switched to camera mode. "Let me get a pic, just incase I forget or want to add to it."

The flash shown and the blond smiled at the high resolution of the picture. "We're all good."

They quickly put the board away and then went off to their stationed areas just as Natalya and their boss returned.

"What are you smiling about?" Natalya snapped at him as he helped her rearrange the display case of recommended novels. She expected him to say one of his cheesy lines at her, a habit of his when they were in close proximity.

He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes with, "You'll find out."

Afterward he upped his happiness level by humming a little tune under his breath. Natalya was left thinking about whether or not she should be worried.

* * *

**A/N**: Sorry it took forever to update this! It was due to this scene actually, I have written it several times. To be honest i'm still not fully satisfied with this, but I am sure that the next two chapters will make up for it.

Thank you for the follows, reviews, and favorites!


	5. Chapter 5

**Hetalia© Hidekaz Himaruya**

**(a little just incase note: I posted two chapters so don't forget to read chapter 4)**

* * *

"Hey Mattie, got time?" Alfred asked peeking into his brother's room.

"Sure," his brother answered from his place on the floor of his room, a few textbooks laid out neatly in front of him while he finished (not yet due) homework. A small voice in the back of Alfred's head chided him to do the same. He ignored the voice's advice by reminding it they still had a whole week to do so.

With the go ahead, the older made his way over to his twin's nicely made bed.

"So how was your day?"

"Fine."

"Did anything interesting happen?"

"No not really, just an average day."

"Are you almost finished with the homework?"

"I have a few more pages to go."

"When do you think you'll be done?"

Tired with the unnecessary small talk Matthew decided to cut to the chase, "What do you need Alfred?"

His answer was a dramatic, "Why do you think I need something?"

"I _know_ you Alfred." He looked over his glasses to look into his twin's eyes. "You don't start convos by asking about _my_ day. That only ever happens when you have something up your sleeve."

A mini staring contest ensued. Under the very focused gaze, Alfred broke. "Fine."

"Now what is it?"

Alfred bit his lip before he asked, "You bought those hockey tickets right? The VIP season passes?"

"Yes," Matthew answered puzzled. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"I want them."

"Why?" Matthew's mind reached its own conclusion and his stare turned a bit defensive, "Are you trying to impress some girl again?"

"What? How could you even think that about me?" his twin cried, "Why can't I—"

"Alfred," The younger cut him off. He was sitting up straight now, very suspicious about what would happen.

"Yes," Alfred admitted in defeat.

"No," immediately shot down Matthew. "Do you know how hard I had to work for those?"

"Yeah I know Matt, you cried the day you brought them home, like they were your own children."

"I did not cry!"

"Yes you did!"

"I did not!"

The sibling love continued for several minutes before the usually calmer twin said, "You're still not getting them."

"Come one Matt!" the older whined.

"No," Matthew said with finality. "End of discussion."

His brother looked distraught, not that he noticed as he was back to looking at his assigned homework. A mental debate went on in the elder's head.

"What if I say if you give those passes to me, it will help both of us."

Matthew rolled his eyes and snorted doubtfully, "How does helping you hook up with some girl help me?"

"It is not just some girl Matthew," he said his brother's full name to show how serious the matter was. It worked as his brother looked up, attentiveness on his features. "It is Natalya Braginski."

The younger's face drained of color. Disbelief alongside horror flashed across his face. Alfred vaguely wondered if that was how his face looked when there was a pop quiz and he had not paid any attention to the lecture.

"Why?" Matthew choked out, he already knew why but he hoped he was wrong. Really, really hoped.

"Why else?"

"No, why? Tell me." he asked pulling his twin close to him to shake him repeatedly for his utter stupidity. Make to shake the stupid idea out of him.

"So you can date Kat."

"Nooo." Matthew slipped to the floor in a heap of anguish. Before his brother could do or say anything, the blond jumped to his feet. "I can't handle this."

"Hey where are you going?" Alfred cried when his brother walked out the door.

Matthew did not answer as he made his way to the bathroom. It was too dark to walk down the streets, so he figured he might as well clear his head in the shower. At first the scalding hot water was soothing to his suddenly tense muscles. Although the relief was short lived as he thought of the conversation.

"Stupid, stupid!" he chanted while he scrubbed harshly at his scalp with his shampoo. The anguish he had felt morphed into anger. '_Why did my idiot brother have to get involved?_'

Once he was done, Matthew was on the edge of snapping. He sincerely hoped his brother had left his room. Unluckily, he was wrong. Alfred was still on his bed, looking determined as ever. Matthew barely spared him a glance as he went to his drawers to pull out his pajama bottoms, boxers, and a plain shirt. It was when he finished pulling on his pajama bottoms that his brother spoke.

"About those passes…?"

"Alfred F. Jones!" a very irate Matthew shouted with distress, the damn had been broken by that one question. He was hallway through pulling on his white t-shirt. He pulled it the rest of the way on when before asking, "What made you think this would be a good idea?"

The older of the two shrunk back into himself a bit at the furious look on his twin's face. Mattie hardly ever grew mad enough to raise his voice. Maybe letting his younger brother in on his plans was a bad idea.

"I just wanted to help," Alfred said with his best puppy dog eyes to, hopefully, lessen the anger in the other. He sat on Matthew's bed with his twin's favorite polar bear stuffed animal in his arms. He hid behind the toy to his best ability.

"Alfred," the other huffed as he ran his hand through his slightly wavy hair, "Did you think of what might happen to Natalya? What will happen to her when she figures out you did this for me? That you hold no real feelings for her?"

"That's not entirely true…"

Mattie's eyes narrowed, "What exactly does that mean?"

The darker blond looked up, "While I am doing this for you, there is something about her that seems broken. When she gets really mad, she loses the composure she has and _something_ flashes in her eyes. That look is why I think that's why she's choosing to push people away. I can't just stand by and watch that happen."

Blue eyes a shade bluer than his own scrutinized him for a couple of minutes before the younger sibling sighed, "You really do have a hero complex."

When the anger left his body the younger twin pulled out the chair from his desk to sit down. He sat facing his twin.

"Does that mean you'll help?" Alfred perked up.

"Yeah I will," but then the younger grumbled to himself, "I'm going to regret this."

"Now about those passes?" the other asked with a sparkle in his eyes.

"Yeah yeah, I'll get them to you," Matthew struggled to say. The passes had not been cheap as the hockey fanatic had worked a whole summer before he could afford them. They were front row seats, the best view in the house. He eyed the drawer he kept them in sadly.

* * *

"Natalya!" Alfred shouted once he spotted her putting book away the next day at work. She turned toward him with a cringe, his voice was very loud.

"What?" she warily asked when he stopped in front of her, a huge smile spread across his face.

"Let's go on a date!"

Before she could stop herself, the blond girl used the small novel in her hand to slap the American across the face.

"What was that for?" he whined with a red cheek and skewed glasses.

"Quit saying stupid things, then I won't have to hit you," she replied coolly.

Alfred blew her a raspberry before his face went playful again, "What if I say I have something that might be very useful to you."

"And what exactly would that be?" Natalya scoffed, hardly believing the words he said.

"These." The American quickly pulled out a small set of passes from his pocket. He waved them in front of her face to make her more curious. Her eyes crossed trying to read the tiny print, but when they focused, they widened in awe.

"Are these…?" she dared to ask, grabbing the four rectangular pieces of paper from the other.

"All access season passes to the hockey games hosted here? Front row? Well yes, yes they are!"

"What do you want for them?" the girl asked without thinking. The passes would be the perfect gift for her big brother's upcoming birthday. She had had a hard time trying to find something for him, unlike Katyusha, who had a knack for getting him things he really liked easily.

"I already told you," he said with a small flick to her nose. Natalya's blond brows crinkled in confusion. Then it donned on her.

"A date?" she asked with venom. She almost shoved the tickets back into the other's hands. Almost.

"Well three, since those are _very_ expensive," the smiling boy said, motioning to the tickets that had the cost on them. Ice blue eyes traveled to the little section with the cost. It was a good amount of zeros. She bit her bottom lip in dilemma.

"Three dates?" she asked to confirm, "Nothing else?"

"Three dates."

She bit her lip a moment longer before she hung her head in defeat, "Fine, three dates."

"Awesome, you won't regret this!" Alfred shouted happily. He was ecstatic enough to pick the girl up around her waist and spin her, much to her chagrin. She pushed harshly on his shoulders until he let her go with a sheepish laugh, "Sorry, I get overly excited sometimes."

"You don't say," the blond girl deadpanned, not amused. She then chased him off to do his own work on the other side of the library.

"How did it go Alfred-san?" Kiku asked him once he reached his destination. Even though it was not his day to work he stayed after to watch. But he made sure to stay out of Natalya's sight.

"She said yes!" the two exchanged a high five. They then discussed what the blond teen had in mind for their first date. The Japanese sophomore thought it was a great idea, nothing too girly and would not bore Natalya quickly. Having the dark haired boy's approval was reassuring to Alfred. He felt he was going in the right direction.

* * *

After school Natalya was walking home, thinking of the best way to present the passes in her possession. In a birthday card? Tape it to her brother's bedroom door?

A few seconds later she heard someone's footsteps rush toward her. She stopped in her track until the feet fell into step with her. She started up again.

"You told him didn't you?" she asked the person now walking beside her. It was the only explanation as to why Jones would have known about her, and her family's, love of hockey.

"…told who what?" a timid voice asked with faux naivety.

"You know what," here the girl turned her head to look into dark brown eyes, "Kiku."

The intensity of those two eyes broke him immediately, "Yes, I did."

"Why?"

"Because he likes you?" the other answered slowly. Natalya's shoulder's tensed before she turned around quickly. She now stood directly in front of Kiku, with a very solemn expression.

"Promise me you won't tell him anything else," She said with seriousness. The tone of her voice left no room for compromise or discussion. And the Japanese boy wondered what had happened to the blond to make her avoid anything related to romance. From his understanding, most girls would jump at the chance to date someone who did the stuff Alfred was doing for her.

"I promise," He reassured her, but what she didn't know was that he had a hand behind his back with the index and middle fingers crossed. He did not like lying, but he felt that this would be a good reason.

'_Gomennasi Natalya-san._'

* * *

**A/N**: So I had a lot of fun writing the Matthew and Alfred scene! I hope you guys liked this chapter.

Thank you for favorites, reviews, and favorites. (Just checked how many people were following and thought I should really give this fic more attention and decided to post this ASAP to say sorry for taking forever to update!)


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